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  • Original Article
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Early feeding factors associated with exclusive versus partial human milk feeding in neonates receiving intensive care

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

To evaluate early feeding factors associated with exclusive human milk (EHM) feeding at discharge in a cohort of human milk-fed infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Study Design:

Retrospective cohort of consecutively discharged infants from two NICUs over a 12-month period who received any human milk during the 24 h before hospital discharge. We used logistic regression to evaluate early feeding factors associated with EHM feeding at discharge.

Result:

We evaluated a total of 264 infants. EHM-fed infants were twice as likely to receive human milk at the first feeding compared with partial human milk-fed infants (65% vs 32%; P<0.01). In multivariable analysis, including adjustment for race and type of maternal insurance, infants receiving human milk as the initial feeding, compared with formula, had a greater odds of EHM feeding at hospital discharge (adjusted odds ratio (OR)=3.41; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.82 to 6.39; P<0.001).

Conclusion:

Among infants admitted to the NICU whose mothers provide human milk, those receiving human milk as the first feeding were more likely to receive EHM feeding at discharge.

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Acknowledgements

Dr Patel received funding by the National Institutes of Health under award numbers UL1TR000454 and KL2TR000455. The sponsors had no role in the (1) study design; (2) the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; (3) the writing of the report; and (4) the decision to submit the paper for publication.

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Correspondence to R M Patel.

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Walker, T., Keene, S. & Patel, R. Early feeding factors associated with exclusive versus partial human milk feeding in neonates receiving intensive care. J Perinatol 34, 606–610 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2014.63

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